Fruits Basket: The Zodiac Curse
by Hinotori-hime
Summary: A young girl accepts a job as housekeeper to a rich, mysterious family and soon finds herself tangled in ever-widening circles of secrets. Updates weekly (hopefully).
1. Prologue and Foreword

The scent of burnt rubber and warm blood hung like smoke in the air. Ambulance sirens, bystanders' chatter, an undercurrent of shock and uneasiness, mingled with a morbid curiosity. White trainers sprinting away, sobbing breaths, three words echoing guiltily. Far away, a young woman wakes with a splitting headache and an aching heart, a sinking knowledge that something has just been altered that can't be fixed.

Isn't it strange, the places stories cross? The things that can irrevocably change a single life and then ripple outward? The tragedy that can be the salvation of so many?

Come, sit with me; let me show you how much a single person can do to change those who thought they were lost forever.

A new banquet is beginning.

* * *

**Thus begins one of my most ambitious projects ever: a novelisation of Fruits Basket. I do not own the manga (originally by Natsuki Takaya); I'm just the insane person who thought this would be a good idea. **

**Notes about transliteration and translation:**

**In many cases I have chosen to simply transliterate Japanese words rather than translate them, usually in the cases where there isn't really a good English equivalent for the word or idea. For example, I will use 'onigiri' and 'umeboshi' rather than 'rice-ball' and 'pickled plum'. One peculiar case is that of Hana-chan's powers. I will follow the Tokyopop manga's lead and use 'waves', but be aware that there isn't really a good translation for 'denpa', so I may switch on and off depending on what sounds best in the sentence.**

**Another instance that deserves special mention is honorifics. I will use them, with one exception: Yuki addresses Tohru as 'Miss Honda' rather than 'Honda-san'. Why? Well... it sounds better.**

**Names will be transliterated normally, i.e. long 'o' with a 'u'; thus, Kyou, Shishou. The two exceptions are 'Sohma' (instead of 'Souma') and 'Tohru' (instead of 'Tooru'). Again, no real reason except aesthetics.**

**All translations are my own.**


	2. The Tent in the Woods

The early morning sun shining through the thin yellow plastic of Tohru's tent woke her early. It was August and the leaves looked like emeralds with ruby tints shining through them; there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

"That means it'll be hot again today," she said aloud, and pulled her head back inside the tent. Dressing hurriedly and shoving her books into her bag, she hesitated, hand hovering over the picture nestled carefully on her makeshift nightstand. Then she shook her head.

"I'll leave you in charge of the house, okay, Mom? I've got everything else, I think, so I'm leaving now!"

The red-haired woman grinned out from behind the glass, one hand raised in a 'peace' gesture, watching her daughter fade into the trees.

"What a beautiful day…" Tohru murmured, and felt a pang of sadness. Her mother had loved late summer days, and it was still hard to believe she would never see one again. But there had still been snow on the ground in May, when a car skidded around an icy corner and plunged Kyouko Honda's vibrancy into grey oblivion.

There were no trails through the woods just outside the city, and Tohru had a delightful feeling of quiet, untouched wildness. She glanced down at her watch and realised with surprise that there was an hour before school – she hadn't needed to wake up so early after all. But now that I am up, she thought, I can afford to look around a bit. She slipped through the trees, following a small creek, peering curiously into squirrel nests. She heard a sweet birdsong and plunged after it, and stumbled into a clearing and onto what might have once been a well-tended yard, but was now a tangle of weeds surrounding a large house with an unpaved path stretching off in the direction of town.

It was a nice house, built in the traditional style with its paper sliding door cracked open to let air circulate. Big, too; it probably belonged to someone rich – and not very tidy; the high, wide porch was strewn with various outside trash. Tohru's curiosity got the better of her and she stepped cautiously up onto it. A large box teetered precariously on one of the piles; as she drew closer she saw that it was in turn supporting twelve small lumps of clay. She squinted. They looked vaguely like animals if she looked closely.

"My, my," came a voice from behind her. Tohru turned around slowly. There was a man standing behind her, looking amused. She made a small squeak and almost fell off the porch, flailing her arms.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I was looking at your things without even asking, oh, that's trespassing, isn't it? I'm sorry! I'll leave right now!"

"No, it's fine," he interrupted, scrutinizing her with piercing grey-green eyes. "I was just letting them air-dry; you're welcome to look if you want to."

"Oh," she said, relieved. "I really am sorry, they're just cute."

"Why thank you; I like them too." He knelt next to her and lightly brushed the dog figurine with a slender fingertip. "Although, I would think young people these days wouldn't be too interested in old superstitions like the Chinese zodiac."

"No, of course not!" she hastened to assure him. "I love these, even though-"

She stopped abruptly. Her eyes went wide.

He prompted, "Even though…" and she reluctantly continued, feeling horribly impolite.

"Well, I was- I was about to say- you don't have the Cat."

His head jerked up and suddenly the full force of his penetrating gaze was fixed on Tohru, boring into her very soul. She squirmed uncomfortably.

"I see," he said, mildly enough. "I take it you're referring to the old folktale?"

She nodded carefully. He didn't seem angry. "I used to love that story. My mother would tell it to me almost every night."

_Long, long ago, in a time so far way you have to close your eyes to see it, God told all his favourite animals, "I'm having a banquet tomorrow. Whatever you do, don't be late!" They were all excited, and eagerly made plans. But the mischief-loving Rat decided to play a trick on his neighbor, the Cat: he lied to her and told her that the banquet would be the day _after_ tomorrow._

_On the day of the feast, the Rat rode on the back of the Ox all the way to the banquet, and so he was able to jump off and be the first guest to arrive. Behind him, the strong Ox was followed by Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Bird, Dog, and Boar. They all had a lovely time until the morning – except for the Cat, who had been tricked. To this day – _

"_Tohru? Why are you crying, baby?"_

"_Th-the p-poor cat!" sobbed the little girl. "She must be so lonely!"_

"_Tohru, it's just a story-"_

"_I know! I'll stop being a Dog and be a Cat instead!"_

"_I don't think that's something you can change..."_

The man snorted and Tohru blushed. "Well, as you can see, I really loved the Cat," she told him.

"Heh," he said softly. "I wonder what _he_ would say if he were to hear that."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, nothing," he said airily. "More importantly, you're year of the Dog, right? That explains it then."

"Explains what?"

"You mean you can't feel it? This… connection between us? You see, I'm something of a 'dog' mysel-"

There was a loud thud and the man fell over.

"Honestly, Shigure. What are you doing, sitting there blocking the doorway with that stupid puppy-dog look on your face?"

"Yuki! That hurt! What've you got in that bag, a dictionary?"

"_Two_ of them."

Yuki? Tohru looked up slowly, almost afraid to confirm that the boy standing in the doorway did, in fact, have silver-purple hair and silver-purple eyes and pale, delicate features. It was, in fact, the 'Prince Charming' of her school, and she was standing on his front porch.

"Are you alright, Miss Honda? I hope my cousin didn't do anything weird to you."

She jumped up in a panic. "Sohma-kun! G-good morning!"

"Good morning," he smiled.

The older man sat up and complained, "Don't say stuff that makes me sound like a pervert."

* * *

"Honda!"

Minami Kinoshita did not look pleased as she stormed up to Tohru. "You'd better have a really good explanation for this morning! Why did you come to school with Prince Yuki today?"

"I-it was just a coincidence. You don't need to get so worked up about it," Tohru attempted, but Minami kept going.

"If coincidences like that were legal, we wouldn't need the police! Don't you dare try to take advantage of Sohma-kun's natural kindness!" By now, Minami was so loud that people were starting to stare. "Don't get full of yourself, you-"

"Yo."

Tohru perked up. "Uo-chan," she sighed. The tall blonde standing behind Minami winked at her, then leaned down to the suddenly shaking girl.

"She said it was a coincidence, didn't she? You'd better get lost, girlie, and quit comin' up with lame excuses for a fight."

"Y-y-y-you don't scare me! You th-think I'm going to drop it just because a no-good delinquent like you threatens me?"

"Yeah, actually, I do."

"Or I could *beeeep* you with toxic radio waves," offered a deep, quiet voice from the shadows. A crackle of static drowned out some of her words. Minami screeched and fairly flew down the hallway. The blonde grabbed Tohru in a crushing hug.

"Uo-chan, Hana-chan, you saved me…" said Tohru in a muffled voice.

"Oh, you poor baby," said Arisa Uotani, ex-gangster, second most feared person in the school, and official best friend of Tohru Honda since middle school. She twisted around and said to the _most _feared person in the school, around whom bursts of static were still crackling: "Hanajima? Don't really zap people, kay? We've talked about this."

* * *

"_So, you're Yuki's classmate?" said the older man. "I'm his cousin, Shigure Sohma."_

"_Pleased to meet you! I'm Tohru Honda."_

"_So, Miss Honda, what brings you out here so early in the morning?"_

_Tohru flinched. "My house is, uh, near here."_

_Both men looked surprised. "Near… here?" Shigure echoed. Tohru started to sweat, but then Yuki took pity on her._

"_Whatever. We're both going to be late for school if we don't get going. Miss Honda, would you like to walk to school with me?"_

"So _that's _what all the fuss was about," Arisa said with her mouth full. "Those girls are all just crazy, I swear."

"They have a point, though," Tohru admitted shyly. "Sohma-kun is so beautiful, and kind as well. It was nerve-wracking just being around him. Uo-chan, stop eating the assignment!"

Saki Hanajima set down her knife. "That boy's waves are very strange. It's hard to explain it, but they're definitely not normal."

"Not normal?"

Arisa snorted and took another bite. "Oh joy, here comes the Daily Hanajima Wave Report. What's the diagnosis, Doctor?"

"Like I said, it's hard to explain."

Arisa pushed her bangs back from her face and said, "He's a pretty weird guy, y'know. I heard about this one junior who tried to confess her love for him a few weeks ago. She went to hug him and he flung her away from him onto the ground and hightailed it outta there. Scared her pretty bad. He doesn't talk much about himself either, seems determined to keep everything all mysterious. Not like it stops those morons from forming that stupid 'Prince Yuki Fan Club' or whatever they call themselves. Yeah, whaddaya want?" This last was to the Home Ec teacher, fuming behind them.

"You three! I want your hands moving, not your mouths!"

"But it's done. See?"

The teacher peered at the plates arranged carefully on the table. Then she re-inflated.

"You know as well as I do Miss Honda did all of that!"

"So? Long as it's done who cares?"

As the teacher stalked away, Arisa turned back to her friends. "Yo, Tohru. Hana-chan and I are going shopping after school. You wanna come or have you got work?"

"Yes, I'm sorry."

"Oh, right, you have to pay your own tuition now. That sucks."

Saki frowned thoughtfully. "Still, it's just a small prefectural high school. Tuition shouldn't be that much – not so much you have to work every night to pay it."

"Oh, it's not that," Tohru laughed. "It's just, I'll have to support myself eventually, so why not start saving up now?" Arisa grabbed her in another bear hug.

"You make me cry when you talk like that! Here, you eat this. You need to keep your strength up and you made it anyway."

Saki handed the bowl over and remarked, too casually, "Of course, you're still living with your father's side of the family, correct?"

Tohru flinched. Again. "O-of course I am!" she squeaked. Arisa's eyes narrowed.

"Is something wrong, Tohru? Are they feeding you properly? They're not cheating you out of your wages, are they? Do you want me to come over and have a talk with 'em?"

"No! It's fine! You don't need to do that!"

"Alright. But if you need me to rough anyone up for you, you just say the word."

"…right," Tohru said weakly. There was definitely no way now that she could tell them she was living in a tent.

* * *

She was very tired by the time school was finally over and she could drag herself to her shoe locker. The locker area was already mostly empty, but he was still there.

"Sohma-kun, I'm terribly sorry about this morning."

"I'm the one who ought to apologise. I hope Shigure didn't bother you too much? He's an incorrigible flirt, but he's harmless most of the time."

"Oh, no, of course not! He was very kind, and I loved the ornaments he showed me."

"Ah, yes. I thought heard something about 'becoming year of the Cat'?"

She giggled nervously. "I'm afraid I was rather eccentric as a child."

"Hm." They turned out of the schoolyard; she had to hurry to keep up, and couldn't see his face. His voice was so cold all of a sudden. "The cat is a useless, foolish creature."

"Useless? What do you-"

He went on without waiting for her confused reply, in the same cold, precise, implacable tone. "Miss Honda, do you know about the true origins of the zodiac? Originally, it was nothing more than a time-keeping system. It used numbers first, you know. Later on, it was combined with ideas about yin and yang, and the five elements. No one knows when or why the animals were added, but one thing is sure: there has never been a time when the Cat was included among the Twelve. In my opinion it's a good thing, but the Cat wants only to join the others. As I said, a truly foolish animal."

Tohru said hesitantly, "So then, Sohma-kun... you dislike cats?"

He turned, and she could see his face and his cold, humourless smile. He said nothing. The late afternoon sunlight glinted eerily off of his silver eyes.

The school bell tolled and both teenagers jumped. Tohru pulled her watch out of her pocket.

"It's that late already? I'm sorry, Sohma-kun, but I have work so I need to leave now!"

"Miss Honda," he said gently. She turned back to face him and he reached out toward her, as if he was about to touch her forehead; instead he paused. "This morning, I thought you didn't look well. You're still pale, and it's hot. You'd best take care of yourself." He paused again. "I'll see you tomorrow."

I think I'm starting to understand what Uo-chan was talking about, she thought. He really is a mysterious person.

Tohru was lost in thought the entire way to work. Yuki's admonition to 'take care of yourself' had stuck uncomfortably close to home.

_Geez, Tohru. You need to take care of yourself, baby girl. I don't want you pushing yourself so hard you get sick. Just relax. Take care of yourself before you try to take care of me._

"But you needed me to take care of you, Mom," she whispered aloud as she scrubbed the sinks in the huge, fancy bathroom of the business where she worked as a janitor. "You worked so hard after Dad died, I was happy to help if I could. You were so strong, but I didn't want you to break." She paused, hearing screeching metal in her mind. "I didn't think you _could_ break. Not like that."

After the funeral, she sat quietly while words bounced around over her head. Words, words, hateful syllables that all carried the same message: _we didn't want Kyouko and we don't want you._ Oh the reasons varied, it was always not enough room, not enough money, too big a family already, but Tohru understood. _A child like that is no consolation_. It was the first time in her life she had been unable to think well of someone else; the bitterness she felt scared her a little, but the sheer uncaring cruelty of her father's relatives left her breathless. She was glad when her paternal grandfather finally offered to take her in – at least she knew he cared about her, although she hadn't seen him in several years.

Of course, there was no word from Kyouko's parents. Did they even know their only child was dead?

Tohru's grandfather told her to call him Toto-san. She dredged up the long-forgotten nickname from somewhere in her memories, but he insisted on calling her Kyouko, and after a while she stopped trying to correct him. She in turn insisted on paying her own school tuition, her own living expenses; she begged him not to waste the small amount of money he received as a pension on her. Reluctantly, he agreed, and Tohru started to settle into her new life.

Four months later, he told her that her aunt would be moving in with them soon.

"I'm taking the opportunity to renovate the house, so I'll stay with them. But, Kyouko-san, I wouldn't wish their hospitality on you. Can't you stay with a friend during that time?"

She told him yes. But Arisa lived in a two-room apartment; Saki had five other people in her family. The same stubborn independence that had made her pay her own tuition whispered that she would be too much of a burden, and that was something she couldn't bear. So she bought a small tent on sale, set it up in a tiny clearing not too far from the city, and kept smiling. For a week, she endured torrential rains and an infestation of slugs. For a week, she was unaware of her neighbours.


	3. An Unexpected Offer

"Am I the only one who's getting sick of cheap take-out _every single night_?" Shigure yawned, pulling his arms inside his kimono sleeves. "I might throw up when we get back to the house. What a waste."

Yuki grimaced in agreement but said, "If you're that sick of it, why don't you try cooking?"

"I do! But every time I try you complain about it!"

"Shigure. You put pickles in my curry. You put _pickles _in _curry_."

"Well, I guess I'm not one to talk, but your housekeeping skills leave a good deal to be desired, Yuki-kun. I shudder to think about your early… experiments with toast."

"It's not my fault I had maids growing up!"

"You mean it's not your fault you're so clumsy with your hands, and that's debatable. For pity's sake, at 16 you ought to at least be able to fold a paper crane properly!"

Yuki had flushed at this point the first time they'd had this argument, but after repeating the same fight practically every week for the last year he'd decided it just wasn't worth getting worked up about. Instead he smiled and said mildly, "Like you could do any better."

Shigure sighed. "What we hopeless bachelors need," he said whimsically, "is a delicate flower to brighten up our barbaric lives."

Yuki frowned; this was new. "Flower?"

"By 'flower' I mean 'woman', of course."

"Of course. You want a housemaid?

"You don't sound pleased."

"I'm not and you're insane."

Shigure laughed easily. "I was joking, Yuki-kun. Obviously it would be a bad idea… but wouldn't it be nice? Yuki-kun, are you listening?"

Yuki's attention had been captured by a movement through the trees, a moving patch of lighter blue against the deep indigo of night. "Is it just me," he whispered, "or is that a person?"

Shigure squinted. "I think it's that classmate of yours - Tohru-kun, right? What's she doing all the way out here at this time of night?"

"I don't know. She did say she lived close, but I thought all this land was ours for a couple of miles around."

"It is. And I don't think we're leasing it."

The two stared at each other for a moment, then set off after the girl.

* * *

The tent walls wavered in Tohru's half-open eyes. Slowly setting down her bag, she murmured, "I'm home, Mom," and groped around for a washcloth.

"I'm so tired… but I've got homework, so I'm going to go wash my face before I start working, 'kay?" She closed her eyes for a moment to shake off the dizziness of exhaustion before she ducked back out of the tent.

Yuki and Shigure stared at her. She stared back with wide eyes.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Shigure doubled over, laughing so hard the tears came. Tohru just sat there, unsure what to do, as his pointing finger bounced up and down with his shaking shoulders.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Shigure," Yuki admonished, "you're being rude."

* * *

"… I see. So how long have you been living in that tent?"

"Oh… about a week." Tohru shifted uncomfortably on her heels, the tatami mats of the Sohmas' front room hard under her knees. Yuki had gently but firmly led her back to his house, where he scurried around shoving piles of trash into the corners so she could sit down. Shigure knelt on the other side of the low table, shoulders quivering.

"She was living in a tent! Hahahaha…"

"We were a little surprised, that's all," Yuki told her, studiously ignoring his cousin. "You see, this entire forest is Sohma property."

"Oh, I see." Tohru wrung her skirt. "Well, I have a little money, not much, but I can pay you! Would you let me rent a camping space? It's not for long, just until the remodeling's done; you won't even notice I'm there."

Shigure sat up, suddenly serious. "No such thing. I mean, there are all sorts of weirdoes wandering around at night-"

("Yeah, weirdoes like you," muttered Yuki.)

"- not to mention that the cliffs are unstable and crumble on a regular basis. I'm surprised you even made it a week, especially since the ground's weak right now from all the storms we've been getting lately."

Tohru pushed herself to her feet. "That doesn't matter! I can deal with it! I held down the tent in a storm and night air's good for you and I don't mind the slugs! I have to be… strong…"

And so saying, she fell over with a moan. Yuki sprang up and ran to her side.

"Miss Honda? Miss Honda, are you okay? Shigure, I think she has a fever!"

"Right! I'll go get some ice! Ice, ice, ice, now where would the ice be?" The older man threw open the kitchen door and stopped short, staring at the garbage heaped on the floor, on top of the fridge, on the counters, and in the sink, exuding strange odors and mutated flies.

Tohru sat up a little and gawked at the mess. "It's like a… sea of decay."

Shigure scratched his head apologetically. "I like that; we'll make a poet of you yet. Yeah, hopefully we haven't hit Upton Sinclair levels yet, but you're right. It's pretty bad."

"Upsin who?"

"Upton Sinclair. _The Jungle_? He was an American muckraker in the – what's that?"

Through the night-time cricket sounds came a distant lonely howling. Tohru shrank back.

"Was that a wolf?" she asked timidly.

"No, a wild dog," Shigure responded abstractedly, brow furrowed. When he finally looked back at the teenagers, his face was serious. "There was a landslide just now."

"A landslide? That's horrible! How did you know?"

Shigure put on an air of deep concentration. "Oh, call it… _animal instinct._" He winked at Yuki, who scowled and mouthed, Shut up, you know you're pushing it.

Out loud, he said, "Where was it?" as he turned to the cabinet and started poking through it for aspirin. Shigure laughed nervously; Yuki's eyes narrowed and he repeated, "Where was the landslide?"

"Um…"

Tohru scrambled to her feet again, swaying dizzily. "M-my tent! Was it near my tent?"

"Um…"

She stumbled outside and started running, pushing through the trees heedless of exhaustion or fever. Yuki and Shigure started up after her.

"Miss Honda!"

"Tohru!"

They tore after her and skidded to a halt in front of the wall of mud: 30 feet high, it had slid down into the valley, completely burying the tiny yellow tent. Tohru sank to her knees.

"M-mom? Mom!" She threw herself forward and clawed at the dirt. "Mom! Mom!"

"Miss Honda!" Yuki grabbed her shoulders. "Miss Honda, calm down. There might be another landslide!"

"But Mom - Mom's picture's in the tent! I have to get her out, she could be hurt!"

A gentle hand on hers; she stopped and looked up confusedly at Shigure's kind smile. "Listen, Tohru. I know you're worried. But the cliffside is still unstable; if there were another landslide and you were injured, I think it would hurt your mother even more. Besides, it's getting dark. So just come on back to the house. You can stay with us tonight and we'll come back in the morning when it's safer. Okay?"

She put her head down and whispered, "… Okay."

"That's a good girl. Come on."

* * *

"There you go. Are you comfortable?"

Tohru nodded sleepily from the depths of the musty-smelling futon, snuggled beneath several blankets, warm and comfortable in a soft purple yukata lent to her by Yuki.

"Yuki-kun's looking for ice right now. I'd say the fever's just due to fatigue brought on by overwork, so you should be fine soon."

"I'm sorry…" Tohru whispered, and sighed like a butterfly. "It's happened again. I lost my home."

"You've had a rough time of it, huh?"

"No, not really. It's just…" She trailed off.

Shigure pressed gently, "You just what?"

"I didn't say it. 'Be safe'. I always said it, every single morning, before Mom left for work. 'Come back safely'. Every single day – except once. I had a test that day and I'd stayed up all night studying, so I overslept. I heard Mom leaving, but I just went back to sleep. I didn't tell her to be safe, and…" She sobbed quickly, but recovered. "After the accident, I considered just dropping out, but I promised Mom I would graduate from high school. She used to tell me that she never even made it out of middle school, and she missed a lot of opportunities because of it. So I decide to graduate high school, for me and for her too. I'm not that smart and my grades are bad, but that just means I have to work harder. So this is no time to be losing… to a fever…"

Her voice had been getting softer and softer, until finally she closed her eyes and trailed off into the slow, harsh breathing of a sleeping sick person. Shigure shifted on his heels, and as he did, he became aware that Yuki was standing behind with a strange expression.

"Is she asleep, then?"

"Yes," Shigure told him. "You heard?"

"Yeah. It's amazing, isn't it, what she's been through? I never guessed- she's so bubbly and carefree at school. It really makes me realize what a coward I am." Shigure finally pinpointed Yuki's expression: self-loathing, a face he hadn't seen in a year and had thought was gone forever.

"A coward, huh? Yuki-"

Yuki pressed on, obviously determined to say his piece. "I've spent my entire life trying to escape the Sohma family. You of all people know how badly I want out of all this. And yet, for all of that, I've only ever had the courage to run as far as another Sohma house. Really, is being here any different from being at the main estate? I could have lived in a tent in the woods. There's nothing stopping me from doing what she did, nothing but my own weakness and fear. I'm a spoiled brat and that's all I'll ever be."

Shigure tapped him lightly on the head with his fan. "You're not a spoiled brat, Yuki, believe me. And anyway, if you ask me, saying Tohru-kun is 'amazing' just doesn't do her justice. You don't have the same _spirit_ as she does, if you catch my meaning."

"I guess," Yuki agreed, relaxing a little. "Can I trust you with her for a bit? I'm going out."

"At this hour? Where could you possibly- oh. Yuki-kun, you're not going to try to dig her stuff out of the landslide, are you? At least not by yourself. There's no way you can do it alone."

Yuki paused in the doorway and turned around slowly. "Alone?"

He smiled. Moonlight glinted eerily off his silver eyes, as if they were glowing – and from behind him came the soft, bone-chilling sound of thousands of chittering squeaks bouncing off each other in the still night air.

"I never said I was going _alone_."

Shigure nodded. "Come back safely, Yuki-kun," he whispered as the boy slipped away into the darkness.

_Tohru?_

_Oh, Tohru. You've got a fever again, don't you? I've told you, you don't have to push yourself so hard. Just go at your own pace, and you'll catch up eventually._

But Mom, you don't understand. If I don't push myself, I'll be alone!

She woke suddenly to sunlight streaming through an open door, hair tumbling out of its braid across her face. Slowly she remembered the events of last night: Shigure's house. The landslide. The landslide! Mom's picture! It's still in the tent, I have to go-

"Good morning, Miss Honda."

"Sohma-kun- good- um-"

He was standing just outside the door, smiling sunnily with several paper bags in one hand and a small framed picture in his other. He held out the picture to her.

"I think I got everything, but you should probably go through the bags and check just to make sure."

"Sohma-kun! You dug through that landslide all by yourself?"

He laughed. "Of course not! Don't be silly."

"Then how-"

"It's a secret." His eyes twinkled.

"Um, okay…" she said confusedly. "Thank you so much, Sohma-kun. You've been very kind."

"It's no trouble," he said. "I'll just put your things upstairs."

"What?!"

"The house is filthy and we're not used to having women around, but you're welcome to stay here until the remodeling is finished. There's a spare room upstairs you can use."

"But, Sohma-kun – I mean, I've already imposed on you so much – I couldn't possibly-"

"Do you like housework, Tohru-kun?" Shigure said from behind her; she shrieked in surprise.

"S-shigure-san! I-"

"You know, cooking and cleaning and things like that?"

"Well, yes, I guess, I'm a pretty good cook but-"

"In that case, welcome to the Sohma house!" he beamed. Tohru's head whirled.

"I-"

"Come on, let's get your things upstairs and then Yuki-kun can give you the grand tour. Ugh, her clothes are all filthy! Yuki, find her something to wear so we can wash these. I'll go order breakfast. Just think of it, Yuki-kun! This will be the last time we'll ever have to order out for breakfast!"

"But- Sohma-kun, this is too much! I can't possibly put you to all this trouble when you've already-"

"Miss Honda," Yuki said, smoothly cutting her off, "we are the ones asking you to stay. Believe me, if it was too much trouble, we wouldn't offer."

"A-alright. But I'll work for room and board and that's it! I won't take money, and I want to know all the rules and-"

"Miss Honda.," he interrupted again, "it's fine. Don't worry. okay? Just do things at your own pace and everything will work out."

She blinked. "If you say so…" she stammered.

Shigure took Yuki's arm and pulled him aside for a moment. "Are you sure this is a good idea? There could be problems," he hissed.

"You were jumping for joy a minute ago. It'll be fine. She's too polite to try to hug either of us. I'm sure we'll have no problems."

Neither of them heard the trees rustling as they went off to their respective duties.

* * *

Tohru had decided that the best way to deal with the unexpected turn of events was to make it a dream, so she was starting to recover from her shock; she'd had weirder dreams before. Yuki left her standing in the doorway of the spare room and went over to the window. The room was much cleaner than the rest of the house, but very dusty, leaving both teenagers coughing.

"We haven't used this room in ages," Yuki explained, forcing down the window, "so I'll just open this to air it out a bit and hopefully-"

Tohru heard a sharp crack just above her head. "What-" she started, and then pieces of the roof started raining down on top of her. She dodged out of the way just in time to avoid a large plank followed by a human figure.

A teenage boy rose to his feet amid the clouds of dust. Barefoot, wearing casual clothes – cargo pants and a t-shirt; her eyes were drawn further up to rest on his bright orange hair. Was he a punk or a gangster? He wasn't wearing any jewelry, except a string of rosary beads around his left wrist. No piercings, no obvious tattoos. And his hair might be bleached, but his eyes at least had to be natural: copper-coloured and filled with hatred.

"Yo, rat-boy."

The strange boy cracked his shoulder joint as he spoke.

"Ready for me to break your neck?"

Yuki turned away from the window with a sigh of exasperation and stared at the boy with the same hard, cold, intensity of his conversation with Tohru the previous day.

"Welcome back, Kyou. It's nice to see some things never change. Must you break something every time you come here? I've told you time and again to give up. You're simply too weak to ever beat me and I wish you'd stop trying. It embarrasses us both."

"Quit yappin', pretty boy! If you think I'm the same as the last time we fought you're in for a world of pain! C'mon, put 'em up!"

He tensed as if to start running forward; then several things happened at once. Tohru lunged forward, intending to grab him or something because it was obvious he was going to try to hurt Yuki, but as she moved a board skidded in front of her and she stumbled. The boy half-turned around when he heard the noise and she saw his eyes widen in fear as she tumbled onto him. Tohru heard a noise like an explosion; suddenly the boy in her arms was gone; and she toppled face-first onto the floor.

"Yuki-kun?"

Shigure's voice floated up from downstairs, and she heard footsteps outside the door.

"What were those crashing noises I heard just now? Don't tell me Kyou came back."

Tohru sat up, shaking hair out her eyes. "I'm sorry! Are you alright, sir?"

But the boy wasn't there anymore. Wonderingly, she lifted her arms.

_Tohru, do you want to hear the rest of the story? It goes like this:_

The soft fluffy orange thing in her hands was making angry hisses and growls.

_The Cat was furious at being tricked, and immediately went out to catch the one who had tricked her. But the Rat was too clever and too good at hiding to be caught. _

Tohru stared at the orange cat hanging limply in front of her, while Shigure broke into peals of laughter. Yuki leaned his head on Shigure's shoulder in despair.

"Can't we do something about that idiot?"

_And so, to this day, the Cat chases the Rat, and will 'til the end of time._


	4. The Sohma Curse

**I apologise for the delays. **

"He's a cat."

The only thing Tohru could think of to say was the obvious.

"He turned into a cat. Did I do that?"

The fluffy orange cat draped over her hands hissed at her as her numbness gave way to panic.

"I turned him into a cat! I'm so so sorry! We have to get him medical attention right away!" Still cradling the cat, she jumped up from her position on the floor and started running to the door.

"Miss Honda, watch out!"

Yuki had seen what she hadn't: a piece of wood teetering on the edge of the large hole in the roof was tilting, sliding away from its precarious balance. It fell. A thunk, and Tohru toppled over onto Yuki, who had started forward, and Shigure, who had dodged the wrong way. As she hit the tatami mats, she heard two more strange explosions fill the air with brightly coloured smoke. She coughed out grey and purple and opened streaming eyes.

Tohru had never seen a dog with such an expression of long-suffering. Come to think of it, she had never seen a dog with any expression at all, but there was definite intelligence in the dark grey dog's eyes. The dog was the same colour as Shigure's hair. Her stunned thoughts rambled on. Why was there a bell ringing downstairs?

"Um, hello? It's me, the delivery boy. You ordered take-out, right? Sohma-san?"

"They're all animals!"

The delivery boy jumped back to avoid the girl skidding to a halt in front of the door, clutching a disgruntled cat in one arm and in the other a patient-looking dog with an exasperated mouse clinging to its fur for dear life. He laughed nervously. Was she alright? He decided to humour her.

"Uh, yes, those are certainly animals. Does Sohma-san have pets now?"

"N-no, you don't understand! They all turned into animals!"

"Yes, yes, of course. That'll be 1600 yen please."

"But-"

A wet nose snuffled against the boy's leg – at some point the dog had squirmed loose and was now holding a small leather object in its mouth, head cocked intelligently.

"Wow, you trained your dog to fetch your wallet? Man, wish my dog were that smart. Well, have a nice day, Miss."

Tohru sank to her knees in the doorway, staring blankly at the three animals as the delivery boy scurried away. Surely this was a dream. Surely this could not be happening.

The cat arched its back and hissed. "This is just great! How are we supposed to explain this?"

"This is entirely your fault, you stupid cat," the mouse snapped back in Yuki's high, silvery voice.

"My fault? You guys transformed too!"

"You transformed first."

They can talk, thought Tohru numbly. Why am I surprised?

"ENOUGH!"

The loud bark rang through the room and the cat and mouse subsided, muttering angrily. The dog padded over to Tohru and sat down, looking at her with soulful eyes. "Like it or not, the secret's out, and I think we owe Tohru-kun an explanation. Tohru-kun, as I think you've noticed, I'm a dog. I'm, well, _the Dog_. Yuki's the Rat; Kyou Sohma over there is the Cat.

"It's a condition peculiar to the Sohma family – we call it the Sohma Curse, when we talk about it. It's been like this for centuries: in very generation, some of the members of the Sohma family are born possessed by animal spirits that correspond to the animals of the Chinese zodiac. There are 13 of us, of all ages: the twelve animals of the traditional zodiac plus the cat.

"We don't know why the curse works the way it does, or even why it's there, but we know more or less how it functions. Basically, we're human most of the time, although the spirit possessing us does leave its mark on our physical appearances and natural abilities, but under certain circumstances we transform into our token animal. If our bodies become physically weak from sickness or exhaustion, we often transform, but also for some reason if we're hugged by a member of the opposite sex. Don't worry, we'll be turning back any time now, although I should probably warn you - "

Three loud explosions shook the room and clouds of grey, purple, and orange smoke filled the air. Three bare backs rose out of the thankfully thick clouds, and Tohru shrieked and whipped around, covering her eyes.

"- when we transform back, we're completely naked," Shigure continued cheerfully. "Where did my clothes go?"

xXx

"Sorry about that. Are you okay?"

"I think so. This isn't a dream, is it?" Tohru's hope was fading fast. After so many pinches that her arm was blue, it appeared that she had no choice but to accept that she was living with Yuki Sohma, who was not only the most beautiful person she had ever met, but was also the Rat from the Chinese zodiac. _Mom, are you watching over me still? I think I'm going to need you…_

Shigure nudged her and stage whispered, "Hey, remember when you said you wanted to be a cat? How do you feel now you've met the real thing?"

"Oh, you're right! Kyou-san is the Cat, isn't he? Wow, what's he like?"

Shigure laughed heartily. "He's a complete idiot! He's devoted his whole life to martial arts, and yet he couldn't tell you were there when you were right next to him! Poor guy only has eyes for Yuki-kun. He really is hopeless!"

The red-head whipped around from his position on the porch and snarled, "Don't say sick stuff like that! How was I supposed to know she was there? Are you guys nuts or something, letting a _girl _in the house? She shouldn't be here!"

Yuki deliberately pushed a lock of hair out of his face. "Who we choose to invite into this house is none of your business," he said coldly. "_You_ are the one who doesn't belong here."

Kyou's copper eyes narrowed. "SHUT UP!" His hand blurred toward the table with a tremendous smashing sound, wood splintering away from the crack his fist had made, a dull thud resounding through the room.

Everything suddenly went deafeningly silent. Kyou looked up slowly and his eyes went wide with panic.

"Ow?"

Tohru made it sound like a question. She reached up to dab at the trickle of blood running down her forehead.

"I – I didn't mean to!"

The flat of Yuki's hand hit Kyou's cheekbone and sent him staggering back.

"I knew you were an idiot, but this is going too far." The high voice had dropped two octaves, husky and menacing. "You want to take your bad temper out on someone else, fine. I'll give you your _fight_, Kyou. But you'd better not be wasting my time again."

Kyou's fist clenched. "Bring it, girly-boy!"

Tohru squeaked as she saw Kyou's foot snap forward, toward Yuki's face. "Shouldn't we stop them? Sohma-kun might get hurt!"

Shigure yawned. "He'll be fine. For pity's sake, why does this have to happen every single time that kid comes over? Come on, Tohru-kun, let's get that cut taken care of."

"But-"

"Tohru-kun, it's fine. This is normal for them. They're the Cat and Rat – they hate each other's guts, and fight pretty much every time they see each other."

"Oh. So, yesterday, when I asked him if he liked cats, that expression meant 'obviously, I despise cats'."

"Precisely," said Shigure, who had no idea what she was talking about. "Don't worry, they'll be fine - in fact, it's almost over. Now, we really need to get you fixed up, you're still bleeding."

"What do you mean, almost over?"

"Watch. Today will be another victory for Yuki-kun."

Kyou staggered backward as Yuki pressed him, faces almost close enough to touch. Then the hand came around, the foot came up, Kyou went flying into the sliding door, tearing through the rice paper to plow into the overgrown yard.

"Yuki-kun!" Shigure admonished.

"Sorry. I didn't realize he'd go so far – his guard is atrocious." He turned to the prostrate boy. "I thought I told you not to waste my time."

"Is he alright?"

"Yes, he's fine. I'm more worried about you, Miss Honda. Your forehead doesn't hurt too much, does it?"

"It's fine! Doesn't hurt at all!" Amazing! she mused. Sohma-kun is so strong – I mean, I knew he was good at sports, but this is practically supernatural. He must be holding back a lot at school.

"SCHOOL! I'M GOING TO BE LATE! I HAVE TO GO CHANGE!"

Shigure coughed gently. "Um… change into what? All your uniforms are all over mud."

"I can just say I fell!"

"No one's going to buy that."

She ignored him. "I'll go change now." As she pattered up the stairs, Shigure called after her.

"Wait, Tohru-kun. I wanted to warn you that I'll need to talk to Akito-san, the clan head, about everything that happened this morning. After all, this is the family's biggest secret."

"I understand," she murmured, bowing apologetically.

Yuki grabbed Shigure once Tohru was out of sight and hissed, "Okay, what are you up to?"

"What do you mean?"

"You were quite chatty this morning. You're planning on having her memories sealed, aren't you?"

"I swear I'm not planning anything of the kind. There were too many people involved last time, but just one girl shouldn't be a problem. Anyway, you're going to be late, too. Go get dressed."

Yuki sighed. "Fine. Hey, stupid cat! Fix what you broke while we're gone." This was aimed to the boy still spluttering in the dirt.

"…Shut up."

xXx

"Oh, I'm so glad the school let me use the washing machines." Tohru trotted along next to Arisa with a swishing noise as the soft cotton of her gym sweats rubbed against each other.

"Yeah, about that… where did you say you fell down? A pigpen?"

Tohru started sweating, but was saved from answering by the snide voice of Minami Kinoshita.

"Too bad you washed your uniform. The mud looked so good on you."

Arisa snorted, watching Minami scurry away with Saki's dark aura-cloud drifting after her. "Man, what a lame put-down. Of course, the Prince is late today too, so the fan-girls are twice as suspicious. What a bunch of morons. They really oughtta get their own lives."

Tohru giggled shrilly. "I'm going to go to the dressing room and change now."

"Shall I go with you?"

"No, it's fine. Thank you, though, Hana-chan. I appreciate it."

It took her only a few minutes to change, but as she slipped out of the dressing room with her bundle of neatly folded gym clothes, she noticed a slim figure leaning against the wall opposite the door.

"Miss Honda?" Yuki's wide grey-violet eyes darted from side to side, checking that they were alone. He wet his lips. "You didn't tell them, did you? Your friends? You didn't tell them about… us?"

Tohru gasped. "No, I didn't! I wouldn't! Oh no, I'm a liability now, aren't I? I swear, I'll never tell another living soul! Mom told me it's wrong to gossip!"

"Miss Honda-"

"I'll do whatever you want! I'll sign my name in blood, or burn myself with a cigarette! I think Mom did stuff like that in her gang!"

"Miss Honda, listen to me!" He slammed his hands against the wall behind her, trapping her, his eyes full of panic. "I know you're trying to keep our secret, and it's good of you, but it might not be enough! Your memories might have to be erased!"

She stood still. He whispered, "I'm sorry."

"…Erased?"

Slowly, Yuki stood straight, panicked shouting replaced by a quiet, despairing monotone. "I say 'erased', but it's more like hypnosis. The memories are suppressed, sealed away deep within your mind. We've had to do it before. It was a long time ago - I was in second grade, and my secret got out, the way it did today. I was playing tag with some other children; I got careless and one of the little girls tackled me. It caused such a commotion, eventually we had to erase the memories of everyone there."

He fell silent for a moment.

_Akito?_

_Akito, am I really so strange we have to erase people's memories to hide it?_

_What a silly question, Yuki. A boy who turns into a mouse? Of course it's strange. If normal people found out, it would make them sick. They'd leave you. You would be alone for the rest of your life._

"Sohma-kun?"

He gasped, jerking out the depths of his memory. Tohru was looking at him with concern.

"Sohma-kun, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. But… I'm worried about you. You see, it doesn't matter what I want. If Akito-sama decides you're a liability, I can't oppose him. So… I'm sorry. I'm sorry we got you involved in this."

He turned to walk away, but Tohru flung herself forward and grabbed his arm. "Wai-"

She collapsed, with nothing but empty air beneath her.

"I'm sooo sorry… I'm such an idiot…"

"It's okay," the mouse squeaked, scanning the hallway. "No one else saw. It'll be fine."

She sat up a little and swallowed. "Sohma-kun?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

Yuki peered up at her with dark liquidy eyes. "Thank you?" he echoed.

"Thank you for worrying about me," she clarified. "But really, you don't need to. Obviously, if the secret is so big you have to tell the clan head about it being revealed, then you need to do whatever is best for your family. I mean, I would be sad to lose any of my memories, but I would be able to handle it. So I just have one request. If… if worst comes to worst and my memories are erased… will you still be my friend?"

A bang announced a cloud of purple smoke. Tohru turned away, shrieking, while Yuki hastily gathered his clothes and blinked away sudden tears. "Seems it didn't take as long as usual that time," he observed superfluously, in an effort to fill the awkward silence as he shoved his arms into his shirt sleeves.

"Sohma-kun, your necktie's crooked."

He looked down in surprise and blushed. "Oh, yeah. I'm not good at that sort of thing."

"Really? I'm surprised," Tohru laughed, and grabbed the offending article. "Here, let me help you."

_If normal people found out, it would make them sick._

Her hands moved swiftly, untying and retying. Yuki watched the white loops pull together and whispered, "You mean, it doesn't make you sick?"

"Huh? Oh, no! I'm feeling much better! I think it really was just fatigue."

"No, I-" He broke off, smiled, and shook his head. "Come on, let's get back to class."

He was never sure afterward if she heard the devout whisper, "Thank you."

xXx

Yanking open the slightly crookedly patched door, Yuki observed that Shigure wasn't home yet, in a tone of voice that stated plainly what he thought of such irresponsible behavior.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon," Tohru told him placatingly. "I'm going to go put my things away."

The faint yelling that had been drifting down the stairs doubled in volume when Tohru cracked the door to her new bedroom open. Kyou was standing on a ladder, snarling with a roll of tape in his mouth, apparently trying to rip off a stubborn piece with his teeth. Tohru noticed a yellowing mark on his cheekbone where he had been struck earlier. He glanced over at the doorway.

"Oh. It's you. Uh, I fixed your roof."

"Oh. Thank you." She looked up at the blue plastic tarp stretched across the jagged hole.

"It's not like it's good or anything! It's just a patch job, but I guess it'll keep the rain out. If you don't like it, get someone who knows what they're doing!"

Tohru squeaked some sort of affirmative, but the only thing she could think was that finally, after all this time, she had met the Cat from the zodiac, and he obviously hated her. Perhaps some of the sadness crept into her voice or face, because when Kyou spoke again his voice was a little softer.

"Hey. Um. About this morning. I don't – when I get mad, I don't really pay attention to what's going on around me, okay? I was mad 'cause I lost to that dirty rat again. So – " He was yelling again, face flushed. "So about this morning – look, I'm sor-"

"Yuki-kun! Tohru-kun!" The door slammed shut downstairs. "I'm home with joyous tidings! Oh, and let's not forget stupid-clumsy-Kyou-kun who started a fight and then lost it!"

"Forget it!" Kyou threw down the tape and stormed out of the room. leaving a confused Tohru tagging after him.

xXx

"So, good news," Shigure beamed benevolently. "Akito says Tohru-kun can stay, under a couple of conditions. The first is that she has to keep the curse secret no matter what. And the second is that Kyou has to live here as well."

The red-head jumped up. "What? No way! I have to live under the same roof asthe useless pretty-boy?"

Shigure shrugged. "You know as well as I do that whatever Akito says goes. Get used to it."

"GAH! STUPID AKITO!"

Yuki was also scowling. "So, he's trying to collar the stupid cat. I should have guessed. But this is going a little too well, don't you think?"

"What are you talking about?" There was a careful innocence in Shigure's voice.

"You and Akito are scheming something, aren't you?"

_I think I'll trust this Honda girl for now. This could be an interesting opportunity for Yuki and Kyou… perhaps for me, as well._

"No, no schemes. Really, Yuki-kun, you should learn to be more trusting."

"Um…"

Tohru bowed deeply. "I know I'm repeating myself, but thank you so much! Please, regard me kindly. I am truly in your debt!"

Yuki looked away with an inexplicable feeling of guilt. "…Yeah. You're welcome." For what it's worth.

"Um, Kyou-san? It's a pleasure to meet you, as well. Please-"

"Why. Should I care. About anyone in this stupid house?"

Yuki's only response was a kick that sent Kyou flying for the second time that day.

"Oh, come on! I just fixed this door!"

"Fix it again."

"Maybe I will!"

Shigure sighed a heartfelt sigh at the destruction of his house; it was a sound that promised to grow quite familiar in the months to come. Tohru decided she was going to enjoy living here.

"By the way, Kyou, there's no room for you. Sleep on the roof."

**Translator's notes:**

**1600 yen: one yen is a little less than a penny, so 1600 yen is around 15 dollars.**


End file.
